Getting chased by a dog

This is a discussion on Getting chased by a dog within the Off Topic & Humor Discussion forums, part of the The Back Porch category; My kids have perfected the art of getting a dog to chase them this weekend. It seems the best way to do it is as ...

Some dogs get overly excited during a chase....once the object has been caught is when one of two things can happen. If there's a dog you don't know, you should never turn your back on it, run away, or look it in the eyes. Standing your ground puts you both on equal terms for the moment until either one makes a move. The movement will be judged as either a threat or gesture of dominance. Most 2 and 4 year old children have no idea, and they are easily outweighed and overpowered by most medium size dogs and up. Best to you in schooling your children about interacting with dogs. I'm sure there's plenty of scary videos available on the internet to boost your cause.

There are other circumstances that can provoke a dog to bite a child. Running, playing, screaming kids can trigger an instinctive predator-prey reaction in some dogs. Children who rough house and wrestle with dogs unknowingly encourage them to use their teeth. Dogs equate this kind of play with littermates or other dogs where using teeth is allowed. Startling a sleeping dog or petting him when he's eating can also provoke a bite.

What can be done to prevent dogs from biting children? I feel that, first, it's essential to understand that almost any dog will bite under the right circumstances. Second, a dog is a dog, an animal whose behavior isn't the same as humans and can't always be predicted with 100 percent accuracy, no matter how friendly or reliable he is.

My approach was developed when I was delivering the Washington Post as a kid (about six hundred of 'em on weekdays, eight hundred to a thousand on Sundays). It's hard to do much of anything with a load of newspapers other than get it between you and the dog. So I came up with this method: walk decisively toward the dog, maintaining eye contact at all times, and making the lowest-pitched growl possible, while at the same time visualizing myself tearing that dog's front legs off his body and beating him over the head with his own bloody legs.

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My approach was developed when I was delivering the Washington Post as a kid (about six hundred of 'em on weekdays, eight hundred to a thousand on Sundays). It's hard to do much of anything with a load of newspapers other than get it between you and the dog. So I came up with this method: walk decisively toward the dog, maintaining eye contact at all times, and making the lowest-pitched growl possible, while at the same time visualizing myself tearing that dog's front legs off his body and beating him over the head with his own bloody legs.

My approach was developed when I was delivering the Washington Post as a kid (about six hundred of 'em on weekdays, eight hundred to a thousand on Sundays). It's hard to do much of anything with a load of newspapers other than get it between you and the dog. So I came up with this method: walk decisively toward the dog, maintaining eye contact at all times, and making the lowest-pitched growl possible, while at the same time visualizing myself tearing that dog's front legs off his body and beating him over the head with his own bloody legs.

Dogs can very easily have their predetor/prey trigger tripped when around kids.

The suggestion to "duct tape" your kids is not as far fetched as some may think. It can be a quick and useful lesson in keeping your arms down and walking if done properly and under qualified supervision. Training the dog, and supervising the dog, should go without saying as well.

As a dog owner it is MY RESPONSIBILITY to maintain control of my dog to ensure that only those that I say he can bite get bit.